Mile Markers 12/7/15 – 12/13/15

Hi, everyone! How was your weekend?

You likely have noticed that I updated my theme! I heard wonderful things about the Restored 316 themes from a college friend (you can read her beautiful blog here!) and found that their themes could highlight my coaching services, blog, and freelance writing all in one sleek site. I’d greatly appreciate any feedback you have, and I apologize for any small glitches as I transition fully to this theme!

This past week was my final week of base building; today I start training for the Lake Sammamish Half Marathon in early March! I love half marathon training: for me, it strikes a desirable balance between intensity and volume. More on my training plan in tomorrow’s post!

Last week I set the goals of doing supplemental workouts during a busy week, which I fairly well achieved. I was a bit half-assed in my strength training, but that is always better than nothing. I skimped on foam rolling throughout the week, but I really just need a new foam roller (and suspect one arriving under the Christmas tree). My current one is older than Charlie!

Monday: AM: 8 mile progression run with the last 1.5 miles at a moderate pace; PM: Core work.

If you’re new to reading my blog, I’ve been incorporating Brad Hudson’s progression runs into my base building to help me transition from easy mileage to the harder workouts I’ll run in half marathon training. After 5.5 miles at an easy pace (8:30’s), I picked up the effort to tempo effort (two counts inhale, two counts exhale) and averaged around a 7:27/mile pace.

I had a two back-to-back dentist appointments that morning (cleaning and fillings), so I headed with Ryan to the gym early in the morning to squeeze in my run, since I knew I would not want to run after getting my mouth prodded at for two hours.

I did my kettlebell workout after my dentist appointment. The entire left side of my mouth felt numb of the local anesthesia and the dentist recommended a some activity to help alleviate it. I did two circuits of the same kettlebell workout I did last week.

The sun came out on my run, which was roughly the only time some real sunshine (not the liquid Seattle variety) peeked out from the clouds this entire week. I’ll take overcast skies for temperatures in the 40s and not a flake of snow nor a patch of ice on the ground, though.

Thursday: 4 miles easy on the treadmill, 0.5%-1% incline, 8:45/mile.

I have not been enjoying the treadmill lately. My hips feel as if they lock up, I can’t stand the stale air, and I just get bored. It’s odd because I used to love the treadmill and even did fairly well on it for long runs earlier in the year, but now I really can’t take much over 45 minutes on it. I intended to do 7 miles, but by 4 my hips were hurting so I stopped and did these yoga poses for happy hips from Happy Fit Mama.

Friday: 9 mile progression run with last 2 miles at a moderate pace.

I’m genuinely enjoying these progression runs. The first seven miles ranged between 8:30-8:40 min/mile and last two miles of both clocked at 7:25/mile. I always get proud of myself when I run consistent splits based off of effort; now to just not let race nerves get in the way of pacing well!

Um, I napped through what should have been a Pilates workout. This nap lasted over an hour and left me feeling lethargic for the rest of the afternoon, not to mention behind on all the work I had planned to do.

Saturday: 6.5 mile hike, 1200 foot elevation gain.

We hiked to Talapus and Ollalie Lakes in Snoqualmie Pass. A winter storm was on its way, so we enjoyed a light and beautiful snow during our hike! The lakes were frozen over completely and the entire mountain appeared as a sort of winter wonderland.

Sunday: Rest

Run: 32 miles | Hike: 6.5 miles | 3 supplemental workouts

Goals for Next Week:

Decrease the pace of my easy runs. Even if just by 15-30 seconds per mile, the transition from base building to training means that I should drop my easy runs down to the 8:50-9:50 min/mile range, instead of the 8:20-8:45/mile range where I’ve been sticking.

Do at least 4, if not all 5, runs outside. I just can’t tolerate the treadmill right now, especially after two runs on it this week, and need to be outside. The only reason I even run on the treadmill now is sheer laziness about facing the 15-35 minute drive (traffic is so unpredictable here) to the trail, but that drive is always worth the benefits of being outside.

Comments

I didn’t realize you had such a drive to the area where you run! Is there nowhere closer for days when you don’t feel like driving but can’t stand to do the treadmill? I feel the same way about the treadmill. I feel like my gait is off on there and it causes my hips to get tight. That looks like a beautiful hike! It was 70 degrees here this weekend and it’s not seeming like we will get snow anytime soon…

There is a small neighborhood stretch of 1/2 mile (all uphill) that I sometimes run back and forth on, but other than that I live right off of a very busy street with no sidewalks in places. The Eastside of Seattle doesn’t have the best urban planning and has awful traffic – the trail where I run is only 5 miles away! Thank you – it was a beautiful hike! I can’t believe it’s in the 70s in Baltimore!

I can tolerate the TM to a point. Short runs are easier. I’ve never done more than 12 and that was painfully mentally. Love the snowy hike pic! We are oddly snowless and cold weather less. I’m kind of afraid what’s going to happen in January!

I didn’t realize you had such a drive to get to where you run. I can see how that would make it hard to get outside when you’re in a pinch. I also much prefer running outside than the treadmill and hate it when I plan to run inside because of the weather and then it turns out being fine (like this morning!). Great week of running and workouts leading into your next training cycle! Looking forward to hearing about your training plan! I am loving the theme too. Its clean but also has good visual interest while information and posts are easy to find. Have a great Monday, Laura!

It does – and the little 1/2 uphill stretch I can run on is not safe if it’s dark because of cars. At least my schedule allows me to usually make the drive, which is a blessing. That’s so frustrating about the weather – I always get annoyed when I stay inside because of the forecast and then the weather is nice! And thank you so much, Angie! I’m so happy to hear you like the theme! Have a great Monday!

I’m not a treadmill-er. Sometimes I run on it, but usually I opt to cross train on those days with the arc trainer or BodyPump. I’m not a fan of going to the gym to run since I can run outside the gym, if that makes any sense. I think it can be a good training tool, though, especially in cases of bad weather or safety. It looks like you got some great workouts in this week.

I didn’t realize the pace of your easy pace would change depending on where you were with your training. That’s a really good point…

Thank you, Amy! I’m probably weird in this, but I’ve learned from my own experience that my easy pace shifts significantly based on how much fatigue is in my legs. I run by effort for easy runs, and that same effort is an 8:20-8:40 during base building and then an 8:50-9:20 during training when I’m tired from intense workouts. Everyone is different, though!

The treadmill feels like torture to me so I avoid it at all costs. Between the air feeling hot and stale and the boredom of not actually moving, it kills me! Although I don’t think I’ve ever slept fully through a workout, lately I’ve been having a lot of trouble getting out in time for more than 4-5 miles, so that needs to change pretty soon.

The hot and stale air is the worst! Plus now that we don’t have our own treadmill and use a gym I get paranoid about getting sick from germs in the stale air during winter. You’ll progress beyond those 4-5 miles soon – those miles will quickly start adding up for you 🙂

Thank you! Yes, treadmill definitely beats 4am – that’s just too early to run! I’m glad to hear you’ve been doing progression runs – you are going to have no trouble getting that sub-3 marathon between those and your 90 mile weeks!

I did not have a good morning with the treadmill today. I never know how it’s going to go but when it goes bad, it hurts and is dreadful! I much prefer outside but when I have a good run indoors, I actually enjoy it.

Yes! Sometimes the treadmill is enjoyable, but then there are just those spells where it’s awful, and they’re completely unpredictable! I’m sorry to hear you had a bad morning with the treadmill – hopefully tomorrow’s run is better!

I loathe the treadmill. I will run in the worst weather conditions rather than run inside. But I know I have to do some inside runs this winter…speedwork on the treadmill and that heat training for Florida…

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Welcome to This Runner’s Recipes!

Hi, I'm Laura! I'm a distance runner, RRCA certified running coach, and outdoor enthusiast living in the greater Seattle area. Whether you want to run your first race or qualify for Boston, I'm here to help you achieve your personal best with training tips, coaching services, and nutritious recipes to fuel your running.